UK invoice template for sole traders and limited companies

Download a UK invoice template in Word, Excel or PDF, with VAT or without it. Both versions follow the gov.uk and HMRC invoice rules, which are explained below the downloads. You can also fill in the template online and download a PDF without an account.

This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. If you're unsure which rules apply to you, ask an accountant.

By Aleksandr Ulanov · Rules checked: October 23, 2026

Download the template

Versions on this page: Not VAT-registered, VAT-registered

Not VAT-registered

Sole trader example

• Word (.docx) 17 KB, A4
• Excel (.xlsx) 27 KB, A4
• PDF to print 39 KB, A4
• Filled example (PDF) 43 KB, A4

Use this template

VAT-registered

Limited company example

• Word (.docx) 20 KB, A4
• Excel (.xlsx) 30 KB, A4
• PDF to print 44 KB, A4
• Filled example (PDF) 45 KB, A4

Use this template

Not sure which one? If your taxable turnover in the last 12 months went over £90,000, or you have registered for VAT anyway, use the VAT version.

Which UK invoice template you need

Not VAT-registered: you don't add VAT and you don't show a VAT number. The gov.uk list of what an invoice must include names the “VAT amount if applicable”, so an invoice without VAT simply leaves it out.

VAT-registered: gov.uk says “You must use VAT invoices if you and your customer are VAT registered.” VAT Notice 700 (§16.2.1) adds that you need a VAT invoice whenever you supply standard-rated or reduced-rated services to another VAT-registered person or business; for customers who aren't registered it's optional.

You have to register when “your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 (the VAT threshold)”, within 30 days of the end of that month, and also if you expect to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. The VAT rates are 20% (standard), 5% (reduced) and 0% (zero). The VAT template starts each line at 20%, and in the Excel file you can pick 20, 5 or 0 for each line.

Billing a client in the US? The contractor invoice template is written for US independent contractors.

Sole trader and self-employed invoice template (no VAT)

The version without VAT has every field on the gov.uk list. Each one appears on the example. The list, in gov.uk's order:

• “a unique identification number”
• “your company name, address and contact information”
• “the company name and address of the customer you're invoicing”
• “a clear description of what you're charging for”
• “the date the goods or service were provided (supply date)”
• “the date of the invoice”
• “the amount(s) being charged”
• “VAT amount if applicable”
• “the total amount owed”

Sole traders also show “your name and any business name being used”, and “an address where any legal documents can be delivered to you if you are using a business name”. A common mistake is a trading name on its own, without your own name. The example reads “Sam Example, trading as Example Design” for that reason.

Tip for hourly work: put the hours and your rate on each line, and the period you worked as the supply date, as the example does with 24 hours at £45.00 for October. The billable hours calculator adds up and rounds your times before you invoice them.

This version prints no VAT at all: no VAT column, no VAT number and no “VAT 0%”. Our app prints “No VAT charged” on invoices from businesses that aren't VAT-registered. That sentence is our wording and optional: we found no gov.uk page that asks for a “not VAT registered” statement.

Limited company invoice template

A limited company shows “the full company name as it appears on the certificate of incorporation” on its invoices, and if you list your directors' names, you must list all of them (gov.uk). The rule behind it is regulation 24(1)(e) of the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015: the registered name goes on “its bills of parcels, invoices and other demands for payment, receipts and letters of credit”.

Many companies also print their company number and registered office on invoices. Regulation 25 requires these on business letters, order forms and websites, together with the part of the UK the company is registered in. Invoices aren't named there, so the templates have the company number as an optional line, and the VAT example shows one.

VAT invoice template: what HMRC requires

VAT Notice 700 (§16.3.1, updated 25 June 2026) lists what a full VAT invoice shows. The VAT version of the template has a place for each item:

1. “a sequential number based on one or more series which uniquely identifies the document”
2. “the time of the supply (tax point)”
3. the date of issue, if it differs from the tax point
4. your name, address and VAT registration number
5. the customer's name and address
6. a description that identifies the services
7. for each line: the quantity or extent, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT
8. the total excluding VAT
9. any cash discount rate, if you offer one (the template has none)
10. the total VAT, which “must be expressed in sterling”
11. the unit price, which for services can be “an hourly rate” (§16.3.2)

On the example, Example Studio Ltd bills 32 hours at £60.00: £1,920.00 before VAT, £384.00 VAT at 20%, £2,304.00 in total.

When to send it: you “normally issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the tax point arising” (§16.2.3).

The tax point for hourly work: the basic tax point for services is “normally taken as the date when all the work except invoicing is completed” (§14.2.1). If you issue the invoice “up to 14 days after the basic tax point”, the invoice date becomes the tax point (§14.2.2). For continuous services “there's a tax point every time you issue a VAT invoice, or receive a payment, whichever happens first” (§14.3). The VAT template labels the invoice date as the tax point. If you finished the work more than 14 days before the invoice date, the date you finished is normally the tax point instead; change the labels in the file, or let the online maker do it for you. For anything less clear-cut, ask your accountant.

Other currencies: you may invoice in euros or dollars, but “you must convert the total amount of VAT payable into sterling” (§16.4). The VAT template and the online maker use pounds whenever UK VAT is charged.

Zero-rated or exempt lines on the same invoice must “show clearly that there's no VAT payable”, with a separate total (§16.5). The template has a total for each rate, 0% included.

Simplified VAT invoice (£250 or less)

A simplified invoice is allowed only if “the value of the supply you are making is £250 or less” and your customer agrees. It shows your name, address and VAT number, the time of supply, “a description which identifies the goods or services supplied”, and for each VAT rate the total including VAT and the rate (§16.6.1). There is no separate simplified file here: the full template works for every amount.

Invoicing a client outside the UK

For most business services to a client abroad, “the supply is made where the customer belongs” (VAT Notice 741A §6.3), so you charge no UK VAT. Exceptions exist, for example services related to land, so check the notice or ask your accountant. Keep proof that your client is a business: “you should make sure that your records contain enough evidence that this is the case” (§2.2), and describe the services clearly.

HMRC gives no fixed wording for the invoice. The online maker and our app print “Outside the scope of UK VAT” on such lines: that is our wording. Whether your client's own country expects a reverse-charge note depends on that country, so ask your accountant if your client asks for one. An English invoice is fine; if you invoice in another language, HMRC can ask for an English translation within 30 days (§16.2.4).

Getting paid: payment terms and late payment interest

If you haven't agreed a payment date, “the payment is late 30 days after” your customer gets the invoice or you deliver the service, whichever is later. Agreed dates “must usually be within” 60 days for business transactions, and longer only if that's fair to both businesses (gov.uk, late commercial payments). The net 30 guide works out a due date and compares the common terms.

Between businesses you can claim statutory interest of “8% plus the Bank of England base rate”, unless your contract sets another rate, and gov.uk advises: “Send a new invoice if you decide to add interest”. On top of that come fixed sums for debt recovery: £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to under £10,000, and £100 from £10,000 (Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, section 5A).

The VAT example carries an optional payment terms line: “Payment due within 30 days of the invoice date. Late payments may incur interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.” Use it for business clients only, and delete it if it doesn't fit your terms. If a client pays late anyway, our overdue invoice email templates go from a polite reminder to a final notice that names the Act.

Download formats: Word, Excel and PDF

• Word (.docx): placeholders are in [brackets]. Replace them, and delete the optional lines you don't need. Word doesn't calculate, so add up the lines yourself.
• Excel (.xlsx): fill in hours and rate. The amount per line, the VAT per rate and the totals are formulas.
• PDF: a blank to print and fill in by hand, and the filled example.

Invoice numbers

Use one series and each number once. VAT invoices need “a sequential number based on one or more series”, other invoices “a unique identification number”. A year prefix such as 2026-001 forms a series. The files don't count up by themselves; the online maker takes the number you type, and our app numbers issued invoices without gaps.

Keep your copies

• VAT records: “Generally, you must keep all your business records for VAT purposes for at least 6 years.” (VAT Notice 700/21 §2.4)
• Self-employed: “at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year”.
• Limited companies: “6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to”, or longer in some cases.

Coming up: the government plans to “introduce mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices from 2029”, and in that consultation PDF and Word invoices are not e-invoices. These files are for today's rules.